Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

What an awesome “almost” month it’s been for us! We covered a lot of miles (and put a lot of gas in the tank), but it was worth the expense, to spend so much time exploring our beloved state! The summer’s not over yet, and we have a couple more adventures ahead of us. But for now, we’re home. And, despite the fun of traveling, it’s always good to get home.

The last time I wrote, we were leaving Homer and making our way back to Palmer for the night, before driving across the Glenn Highway to the Chitina area. As always, we stopped at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage to stock up on food and fuel. Gas was $4.29/gallon on base - a bargain when compared to the $4.40-something we’re being gouged here in Fairbanks. And groceries are always so much less expensive at the commissary; we’re glad to have shopping privileges.

We woke to rain in Palmer, and were slow in breaking camp and getting on the road. A quick glance at the local newspaper showed clearer skies in the Glennallen part of the state, as well as warmer temps. We ran into some road work along the Glenn Hwy - but this is customary. The pilot cars were most efficient, and the wait times weren’t too terrible.

The Glenn Highway is 135 miles long and connects the Parks Highway on the Anchorage side of the state, with the Richardson Hwy on the Valdez side of the state. The Parks, Richardson, and Glenn highways form a triangle - and Fairbanks is at the top.

All three of these highways offer their own beautiful vistas, and are very different from one another in some aspects. Traveling the Parks Hwy from Fairbanks to Anchorage, you drive over the rolling green hills of the Tanana Valley, before crossing the Alaska Range in the Denali park area. This portion of the trip is always my favorite on the Parks.

The Richardson Hwy offers many more scenic views than the Parks (in my opinion), but isn’t as well-traveled nor as well-maintained. You’ll find more frost heaves and potholes along this route, but the views of the mountains once you pass through Delta Junction, are nothing short of spectacular. Other favorite stops along the way include Gulkana Glacier, Summit Lake, Copper Center, and Thompson Pass. Once you cross the pass, the entire final stretch into Valdez is breathtaking.

The Glenn Highway, moves over hills and valleys, in the shadow of the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains. It takes you past several glaciers, and many rivers and lakes. There are many places to pull out - whether to just enjoy the scenery, stretch your legs, or do some hiking or fishing. There is almost always road construction on the Glenn Highway, and at times the road is completely closed down in parts (midnight - 6am).

The Richardson and Glenn Hwys are a beautiful alternative when traveling from Fairbanks to Anchorage, and taking the ‘long way’ only adds about 30 miles to the trip (although it definitely adds some extra hours because a lot of the terrain includes elevation climbs and rougher roads)

Here are photos I took while traveling from Homer to Palmer on the Sterling/Seward Highways:

The following photos were taken while driving from Palmer to Kenny Lake (on the Edgerton Hwy, which leads to Chitina):

We settled in at Kenny Lake Campground, road weary and with no plans but to relax. With our antenna up, we were able to get one channel on the TV - the PBS channel. Steve and I prepare for these situations, and always pack a bunch of DVDs to watch if the weather - or reception - isn’t cooperating. (Roughing it? Us?) I cooked up some stuffed shells for dinner, and we fell into bed exhausted before 10pm.

We’ve stayed at Kenny Lake several times over the years. It’s really only a gravel parking lot for RVs, but they serve up a good breakfast in the morning. Their tent area is nice with secluded spots surrounded by trees/bushes. Kenny Lake is a 100 year old base camp. From their website:

Kenny Lake originated in 1910 as an Alaska Road Commission (ARC) Roadhouse for the newly built Valdez - Fairbanks - Chitina Military Road. Renamed in honor of its U.S. Army Engineer, the Old and New Edgerton Highways are still home to many rest-stops and overnight accomodations. Today this western road entrance serves the needs of mainly Alaskans and scattered travelers on their way to the Wrangell Mountains, Lower Tonsina, the Copper River, Chitina, the Village, Silver Lake, McCarthy, and Kennicott.

The RV lot has electric only, but there is well water available for your fresh water tank and a dump station. Showers take tokens and this year it was $1/token. One token gets you 2 minutes of water. Needless to say, there was no hair washing for me while camping here!

The next morning, we were up and ready to go by 9:30am. We walked over to the little diner to have breakfast before driving to McCarthy/Kennicott. Breakfast was delicious and filling, and the woman who cooked for us was very nice and friendly.

On the way to Chitina, there are three lakes which are stocked with fish by the AF&G. For ease of remembering, they are named One, Two, and Three Mile Lake. Also, Liberty Falls used to be a stop for us, but now it is closed. The falls are beautiful, and there was a campground there at one time (tents). The flood in 2006 took out the campground and then later it was determined that the land was on Ahtna property (Ahtna Native Corporation) and they closed it to the public. The hope is that they’ll open it as a campground again, but as of now there are roadblocks to prevent anyone from driving into the area. You can walk down to the falls, if you want to chance trespassing on private property. I elected to take a few photos from the road bridge, but they didn’t turn out as well as I hoped.

Chitina (pop 123) is on the west bank of the Copper River. The Copper River is a popular destination for dipnetters throughout Alaska. Dipnetting is exactly as it sounds. Dip nets are long handled and large nets. You wade into the water (wearing chest waders preferably), extend the net into the current and wait for a salmon to swim into it. Read more about dipnetting here.

Once you pass through Chitina, you cross a bridge over the Copper River. From the bridge, and from a gravel area to the left of the bridge, you can see several fish wheels turning in the current. When we drove by, there were only a couple which were actually manned by fishermen. Steve pulled off the road so I could take a few photos. One group of fishermen were gutting and cleaning their catch, and the mew gulls flew in a frenzy above and around them.

The McCarthy Road is 61 miles long and dead ends at a footbridge which leads to the town of McCarthy. The entire road is gravel, but is graded on a regular basis, so the condition of the road varies from day to day. We found that the first 18-20 miles were very rough going, with many potholes and severe washboard ruts. After that, the road improved greatly, and we were even able to maintain 35mph for much of the remaining distance. Regardless, the drive took us about 3 hours each way.

You can get to both McCarthy and Kennecott on foot, by bike, or by shuttle ($5 each/one way). We opted for the shuttle.

The gravel road follows the abandoned Copper River and Northwest Railway bed to the Kennicott river. There are spectacular views, high bridges, and plenty of little streams, rivers, and ponds to watch for ducks and swans in. It is recommended that you carry at least one spare tire with you, as sometimes the grader can turn up old railroad spikes. The first (last) time we drove this road, we ended up with two flat tires. This time, we had no problems at all. (YAY!)

When we got to the footbridge, we parked in one of the many lots available ($5/day) and walked across the footbridge. On the other side is a shuttle shelter, with a schedule. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes to the mine area and back.

We were starving, so the first thing on our agenda was to get something to eat. We decided to eat at the Kennecott Glacier Lodge. On our last visit, the lodge restaurant wasn’t open for dining, so all we could get to eat was a bowl of potato chips and a couple of beers. We hoped we would be able to get real food this time.

We were just in time, as lunch is only served until 3pm. Both Steve and I opted for a deli sandwich ($6.95) and were pleasantly surprised to see how large it was! The sandwiches were made on fresh-baked bread, and hit the spot nicely.

After our meal, we took off walking through the mine area. A lot has changed since we were last here in 2004. There was a terrible flood in 2006, which destroyed several of the old mine buildings, and washed out much of the creek bed from where the community gets its drinking water. There were quite a few bucket loaders and graders hard at work restoring the wooden rail bridge which used to span the creek. We also noticed that several buildings have been restored, or are in the process of being restored. Of course I took a bunch of photos! Here’s an abridged version of the Kennecott story, found online at this link:

…The historic mining town of Kennecott is an extraordinary piece of history in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The impressive structures represent an ambitious time of exploration and discovery. Kennecott’s high grade copper ore, previously known and used by the region’s Ahtna native population, was among the richest deposits every found in United States mining history.

In the summer of 1900, prospectors Clarence Warner and “Tarantula Jack” Smith were exploring the east edge of the Kennicott Glacier and could not miss the magnificent green cliffs of copper exposed on the mountainside.

Kennecott Copper Corporation was formed in 1915. Along with building the mine and mill works, this corp controlled the entire transportation route, funding the 196-mile Copper River and Northwestern Railway from Kennecott to Cordova and organizing a steamship line that shipped the ore to smelters in Tacoma, WA. Note: The mining company was named after the glacier (Kennicott), however it was misspelled as Kennecott with an “e’, resulting in spelling debates that continue today.

Successfully meeting countless challenges posed by the extreme Alaska setting, this system of mining and transport engineering operated from 1911 to 1938, when the high grade copper veins were depleted. The total value of the copper extracted was approximately $200 million.

At its peak, the Kennecott operation employed about 600 people. Operation and maintenance of the railway required an additional 300 people. During the mining era, Kennecott became a self-contained company town, complete with hospital, general store, schoolhouse, ball field, skating rink, tennis court, recreation hall and dairy.

Following the boom-bust pattern common to mining economies across the American west, Kennecott became a ghost town soon after the last train pulled out in November of 1938. The creation of the surrounding Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in 1980 helped to stimulate growth in tourism that shapes the town today.

Here are some of the many photos I took along the McCarthy Road and while visiting Kennecott:

Steve and I took the shuttle back down from the mine, but got off of it in the small town of McCarthy (1/2 mile from where we parked on the other side of the river).

A little about McCarthy:

For centuries, Athabascans fished in the area of McCarthy, but they had no permanent settlement there. When Copper was discovered in Kennecott, McCarthy grew as an area to provide services not available in the company town. (Alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in Kennicott). It grew quickly into a major town with a gymnasium, a hospital, a school, a bar and a brothel. The railroad reached McCarthy in 1911.

The population of McCarthy fell to almost zero until the 1970s, when the area began to be developed as a tourist destination and a few people moved to McCarthy to provide tourist services. There was always at least one family living in the McCarthy area from 1953 to the present day.

Steve and I wandered into a few of the shops, admiring birch bark bowls and other crafts available for sale. Some photos from McCarthy and our drive back to Kenny Lake:

After such a long drive to Kennecott and back (12 hours), Steve and I couldn’t wait to get back to the camper and relax. It was another early night for us, and we slept late the next morning too. Our next destination was the small town of Slana - located on the Tok Cutoff of the Glenn Highway. This was uncharted territory for us, and we looked forward to seeing new sights.

We woke to light rain and cloudy skies. This wasn’t going to allow us to truly appreciate the views on the next leg of our journey, and we were disappointed. Nevertheless, we looked forward to driving the Nabesna Road into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

The Glenn Highway (Tok Cutoff) goes from Gakona Junction to Tok; 125 miles. It connects the Copper River basin with the town of Tok on the Alaska Highway and offers mountain scenery, including the Wrangell and Mentasta ranges. The Nabesna Road splits away from the highway to penetrate the northern end of Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park. The Tok Cutoff follows the old Eagle-Valdez Trail, created in 1902 to service a military telegraph line that stretched from the coast to the Alaskan interior.

While we didn’t have the best views of the impressive peaks surrounding us, the drive was nevertheless beautiful. We stopped a few times to stretch our legs, take some photos, and allow Sedona to take care of business. Sedona is such a trooper on these long road trips, and I’m so glad we are able to take her with us as we travel. Of course, she’d much prefer the comfort of the camper, but when we’re actually driving, she rides in her crate in the back of the truck. The cat, on the other hand, remains in the camper - where she hides next to the bed while we’re moving. She doesn’t come out until we stop for the day.

When we arrived in Slana, it was still early enough in the day (and the sun was starting to come out), that we decided to drive the Nabesna Rd after setting up, rather than waiting until the next day. Our first stop was the Ranger Station to check on road conditions. We were told in Kennecott that the Nabesna Rd was closed at mile 29 because the creek came over the road. They were only allowing residents to ford the deep stream, to cut back on the tire ruts that would result from driving on the sodden ground. Our visit to the Ranger Station in Slana, confirmed this information. The road still wasn’t cleared for “recreational” driving past mile 29. Since this eliminated about 15 miles from the trip, we decided to drive it after setting up the camper.

We asked the Ranger on duty about horseback riding in the area. We thought it would be a nice way to pass some time. We were told that there were no facilities offering riding, although we passed several ranches along the way with horses. The liability insurance is much too high, and the number of tourists who actually stop in Slana is low. It was indeed a very quiet town.

We camped at Hart D Ranch in Slana. We were the only ones there. The proprietor was in Anchorage getting supplies, and a nice young man registered us. The sites included all hookups, and were kept nicely. Each site had a chimnea, and there was wood available (free). The bathrooms were clean and located inside the bed & breakfast/hotel. The walls of the hotel were covered with old newspaper articles about the history of the family, and the place itself. Steve went missing for almost 30 minutes, and I found him inside reading the walls.

The first half of the drive on Nabesna Road wound through short, stubby trees (permafrost), and passed private homes on either side of the road. Once we got about 15 miles into the drive, the homes were spread further apart, and the Mentasta and Wrangell Mountains were more visible on the horizon. We drove past several ponds that were marked by the AF&G as being stocked, and Steve spent a few minutes trying his luck.

We didn’t see any wildlife, but it threatened to rain at times, and the darkening skies were a beautiful contrast to the snow-dusted mountains of the Mentasta Range (a subrange of the Alaska Range). The mountains looked like they were just recently dusted, and the pure whiteness of the snow looked like powdered sugar. Some photos of the day:

Back at the camper, we made a quick dinner, plugged in a movie, and went to bed. We decided we were going to break camp the next day, rather than staying an extra day. We were both ready to get home to our comfortable bed, full-size kitchen, and large bathrooms with unlimited hot water.

When we reached Tok the next morning, we stopped at a restaurant called “Fast Eddy’s” on the Alaska Highway to grab a bite to eat. Oh my goodness, but the food was fantastic! We both ordered burgers - Steve’s loaded with all kinds of stuff, and mine plain (typical fashion for me). He ordered the beer-battered fries with his, and I had the onion rings. Both were fantastic. The waitress was quick and attentive, and our glasses were kept full without even having to ask for a refill. I did a little reading online about this restaurant after we got home, and it’s gotten nothing but rave reviews. If ever we find our way to Tok again, we’ll definitely make a stop at Fast Eddy’s a priority! For anyone planning a trip to AK via the ALCan, save your hunger for Tok!

Here are some photos I took between Tok and North Pole:

It is so good to be home again! Steve doesn’t have to go to work for a few days, so we hope to get some yard work done around the house. We have all kinds of wild things growing in our yard - and it’s not pretty. We have mustard plants growing in our yard and they are about 2′ tall. At first I thought they were dandelions (same leaf structure), until they continued to grow very tall and bloom with yellow flowers. They have taken over the yard and make it look like the woods is right out our back door. I guess that’s what happens when you leave town for almost a month!

Our next trip isn’t until August (Valdez), so we’ve got several weeks at home to enjoy the local festivities and home life before packing up the camper again. Golden Days is this upcoming weekend, and I plan to attend the festivities (Red Green Regatta and Rubber Ducky Race). Steve’s working, so I hope to find a friend to hang out with, or I’ll be going it alone. My friend Abby said I’m welcome to join her and her family, but her time is so limited with her husband being a nurse at the hospital, and I don’t want to cut into their time. We’ll see…

Well, this entry turned out to be a long one. I’ll let your eyes rest before posting another. *grin*

Until next time…